Rivian’s R2 reservations are off to a sizzling begin. On Friday, CEO RJ Scaringe posted on X that the automaker had taken greater than 68,000 reservations for the SUV in lower than 24 hours. Amid alarmingly weakened demand for electrical automobiles, maybe there’s a latent curiosity in revolutionary EV corporations after they aren’t helmed by a battle magnet with a fixation on baseless conspiracy theories and the supposed on-line “rights” of Neo-Nazis.
Rivian’s 68,000 reservations maintain up effectively in opposition to its most high-profile opponents. It took Ford about three weeks to get 100,000 pre-orders for the F-150 Lightning. Tesla’s Cybertruck obtained 250,000 reservations in lower than every week. To be truthful, reserving a Rivian R2 solely requires a $100 deposit the identical because the Cybertruck and F-150 Lightning.Clients plunking down a Benjamin to carry one don’t have any obligation to pay the remaining $44,900 (and up) when the automobile lastly arrives in 2026, and even when they intend to purchase one now, that’s loads of time to vary their minds.
You can argue that — like with Tesla and Ford — Rivian selected the low deposit to construct hype, figuring out full effectively that many pre-order clients received’t comply with via. Nevertheless it additionally helps that Rivian’s occasion on Thursday did every part the corporate wanted. The R2 seems “quite fetching,” as Engadget’s Lawrence Bonk identified. On the within, it has modern and refined particulars like two glove packing containers, fold-down rear and entrance seats, a slide-out cargo ground and twin scroll wheels with dynamic haptic suggestions on the steering wheel. It additionally has a 300-mile minimal vary and a $45,000 beginning worth, which does not harm.
Overwhelmed by the fantastic response to our new automobiles: R2, R3 and R3X.
In lower than 24 hours, we’ve taken greater than 68,000 R2 reservations. We’re thrilled to see this automobile resonate so strongly with our neighborhood! pic.twitter.com/tEIBhwlJQC
— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe) March 8, 2024
And, in fact, the shock “One more thing”-style reveal of the cheaper, sportier and extra compact R3 and R3X might assist present a halo impact for the corporate when it desperately must construct pleasure round its model. In February, Rivian introduced that it might lay off 10 p.c of its salaried employees, and this week, it lower 100 staff at its Illinois manufacturing facility. Nonetheless, the EV market might use a brand new “hero.” I don’t know if Rivian or its CEO, RJ Scaringe, has potential to be the face of the trade. However Elon Musk, its present poster boy, is a lightning rod for pointless turmoil.
In a survey of Individuals performed by The Harris Ballot late final yr, 45 p.c of respondents stated they’d a decrease opinion of EVs “because of the actions of people associated with them.” (I’m fairly certain they didn’t imply Ford’s Doug Discipline or GM’s Mary Barra.)
Maybe Rivian’s spectacular displaying reveals not less than some Individuals have an urge for food for an EV maker that’s neither a standard auto firm nor one helmed by somebody who, at instances, appears extra curious about behaving like a teenage contrarian than a accountable grownup serving as the general public face of an trade the world desperately must develop up — and get individuals enthusiastic about driving electrical automobiles — as local weather change begins to ravage the planet.